1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a two position tilt hood for an off road vehicle having a mast with forwardly extending lift arm.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Backhoe loaders are common off road work vehicles. These vehicles are provided with a front mounted loader and a rear mounted backhoe. The lift arms of the loader are pivotally mounted to a mast extending upwardly from the supporting structure of the vehicle. A hood covering an internal combustion engine is located in front of the mast. The hood is made of sheet metal or plastic. To service the engine the hood is opened. Pivotal hoods are not common on these vehicles as the lift arms and the cross bar extending between the lift arms interferes with lifting the hood.
The front of a hood for a work vehicle is pivotally mounted to the front of the supporting structure. The rear of the hood is located adjacent to a mast. The mast extends vertically upward form the supporting structure of the work vehicle. A work implement having lift arms is operatively coupled to the mast and extends forwardly therefrom about the hood. The work implement has a raised position and a lowered position. The hood has a closed position enclosing the internal combustion engine, an intermediate open position making a portion of the internal combustion engine accessible and a fully opened position wherein the internal combustion engine is more fully accessible. The hood can be opened into its intermediate opened position when the work implement is in its lowered position. The hood can be moved to its fully opened position when the work implement is in its raised position. Those parts of the engine that are more regularly serviced are located so that they can be accessed when the hood is in its intermediate opened position. If more complicated servicing must take place the work implement is lifted to its raised position and the hood moved to its fully opened position.
The hood is provided with side walls that are mounted to a pivot bracket. The pivot bracket is pivotally mounted to the front of the supporting structure. The front of the supporting structure is also provided with an upward extending radiator grill. One of the pivot brackets is provided with a prop rod extending rearwardly therefrom. The end of the prop rod opposite the pivot bracket engages a track formed on the supporting structure. The track comprises a slot having a first defined position corresponding to the intermediate opened position of the hood, and a second defined position corresponding to the fully opened position of the hood. The first and second defined positions comprise enlarged bores in the slot. The end of the prop rod that engages the slot is provided with a spring biased shouldered pin. The small diameter portion of the shouldered pin rides in the slot whereas the large diameter portion of the shouldered pin automatically engages the enlarged bore as the pin slides along the slot.